4.5 month old constantly waking!

[mirs30]

hi, this is my third child. my first was an angel baby and slept thru the night at 4 weeks. my second wasnt that great and i honostly dont remember what i did to get him to sleep at night. now, my adorable son is giving me a run for my money. he is 4.5 months old. he used to wake up every 3 hrs to eat at night. lately though, he wakes up usually about 20 min after he goes in for the night, and i go in, give him his paci, pat his back and he usually calms down, then he pulls out his paci and starts crying again. i usually end up going in 4 or 5 times till hes actually sleeping. he will then randomly wake up once or twice before 12/1 and i do the same thing. once i go to sleep, around 12, and im awaken by him again (usually between 12 30 and 1 30) i just end up taking him to my bed because im too tired to deal with him. he ends up sleeping cuddled next to me, randomly waking up and i give him his paci and sing him back to sleep. occasionally ill nurse him back to sleep too. i know this is a horrible habit and i need help breaking it!! my biggest problem is, why is he waking up so often? and what is the best method to get him back to sleep on his own? also, i nurse him to sleep initially (around 8 ) and i know its better to put him in the crib when hes not fully asleep. will someone please give me a step by step guide to get him to sleep normally? im starting to lose my mind!! i have a regular night time routine.. i feed him a jar, bathe him, then i nurse him. any idea would be greatly appreciated!!!

[becj86]

What is his day routine?

Waking that frequently after bedtime is usually overtiredness or pain.

[mirs30]

oh there he goes again!!
during the day he wakes between 7-8 depending on how his night was. takes another nap about 9 30 for about 1.5 hrs. back to sleep around 1 30ish and another short nap at around 5. he likes to be held alot and he nurses approx every 3 hrs

[becj86]

Ok, so it looks a bit like this:
7:30 - wake
9:30 - nap
11 - wake
1:30 - nap
3 - wake
5 - nap
5:30/5:45 - wake
8 - bedtime

Can you pull bedtime about an hour earlier? Are you nursing before naps or after them? How is he going to sleep for naps and do you need to resettle or does he sleep the full 1.5hr? Is he napping in the same bed as night time?

[mirs30]

i can try for earlier.. you think it would make a diff? i usually nurse before naps but not always. sometimes i just give him his paci and rock him in my arms, or rock him in his seat. he always naps in diff places, depending where i am at the time. i dont have a regular schedule so sometimes im out shopping during the time he gets tired, or at home, or at a friends house.  the morning nap he usually wakes up after 20 min and i have to put him back to sleep

[becj86]

i can try for earlier.. you think it would make a diff?

Yes, I do. He'd be massively overtired from going over 2hr on a catnap and that would be why he's waking so much in the early part of the night.

[mirs30]

i will def try that. thank u